FAIR USE is the right to use a copyrighted work under certain conditions without prior permission of the copyright owner. The doctrine helps prevent a rigid application of copyright law that would stifle the very creativity the law is designed to foster. It allows one to use and build upon prior works in a manner that does not unfairly deprive prior copyright owners of the right to control and benefit from their works.
COPYRIGHT is the right of an author, artist, composer, or other creator to control other’s use of their original work.
For educational institutions, libraries, and the public, the Fair Use Doctrine is the most important limitation on the rights of the copyright owner—the “safety valve” of US copyright law.
What is "fair use"?
Fair use is the right to use a copyrighted work under certain conditions without prior permission of the copyright owner. The doctrine helps prevent a rigid application of copyright law that would stifle the very creativity the law is designed to foster. It allows one to use and build upon prior works in a manner that does not unfairly deprive prior copyright owners of the right to control and benefit from their works. Together with other features of copyright law like the idea/expression dichotomy discussed above, fair use reconciles the copyright statute with the First Amendment. Fair Use (FAQ) | U.S. Copyright Office
What is copyright?
Copyright is the right of an author, artist, composer, or other creator to control other’s use of their original work. Under the U.S. Copyright Act, as soon as a creator sets a work ’down in a tangible medium (like drawing on paper, recording on cassette, video on tape, or words on a website), the creator has the exclusive right to:
Copyright Law of the United States (Title 17) and Related Laws Contained in Title 17 of the United States Code: This publication contains the text of Title 17 of the United States Code, including all amendments enacted by Congress through December 23, 2022. Copyright Law of the United States | U.S. Copyright Office
Reproduction of Copyrighted Works by Educators and Librarians, US Copyright Office Circular 21 revised 08/2014 LINK: circ21.pdf (copyright.gov)
These Guidelines for Classroom Copying can be found beginning on page 3 of this circular: https://www.copyright.gov/circs/circ21.pdf . The Guidelines are intended as a “safe harbor,” to define certain activities that, at a minimum, will qualify for fair use. The Guidelines set forth requirements for “brevity”, “spontaneity”, and “cumulative effect”.
In addition, the Guidelines contain a number of further restrictions, including use of n item/article by same teacher in subsequent terms. The Guidelines also permit, somewhat more liberally, the making of a single copy of excerpts of a work for use by an instructor in research or teaching.
In 1998, Congress passed the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), which amended U.S. copyright law to address important parts of the relationship between copyright and the internet. The three main updates were (1) establishing protections for online service providers in certain situations if their users engage in copyright infringement, including by creating the notice-and-takedown system, which allows copyright owners to inform online service providers about infringing material so it can be taken down; (2) encouraging copyright owners to give greater access to their works in digital formats by providing them with legal protections against unauthorized access to their works (for example, hacking passwords or circumventing encryption); and (3) making it unlawful to provide false copyright management information (for example, names of authors and copyright owners, titles of works) or to remove or alter that type of information in certain circumstances.
Section 110(2) of the Copyright Act, a provision sometimes called the TEACH Act, gives accredited, nonprofit U.S. educational institutions the right, under certain circumstances, to use copyrighted materials for organized instructional activities that are not in face-to-face traditional classroom settings. The TEACH Act importance stems from the previous copyright laws that allow educators to copy documents or use copyrighted materials in a face-to-face classroom setting. Because of the growth of distance education that does not contain a face-to-face classroom setting revisions to these laws, particularly sections 110(2) and 112(f) of the U.S. Copyright Act, were needed. The TEACH Act clarifies what uses are permissible with regard to distance education. Furthermore, the TEACH Act outlines what requirements the university information technology staff and students must abide by in order to be in compliance with the TEACH Act.
The Fair Use Index tracks a variety of judicial decisions to help both lawyers and non-lawyers better understand the types of uses courts have previously determined to be fair—or not fair. The Index is a searchable database of court opinions, including by category and type of use (e.g., music, internet/digitization, parody). Please consult Index here: U.S. Copyright Office Fair Use Index
Copyright and Artificial Intelligence
In early 2023, the Copyright Office launched an initiative to examine the copyright law and policy issues raised by artificial intelligence (AI) technology, including the scope of copyright in works generated using AI tools and the use of copyrighted materials in AI training. After convening public listening sessions and hosting public webinars to gather and share information about current technologies and their impact, the Office published a notice of inquiry in the Federal Register in August 2023.
Copyright Registration Guidance, Artificial Intelligence Study, and Cases
LEGAL DISCLAIMER: The content of this LibGuide is intended for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. If you need legal advice, please contact the University General Counsel.
Evaluation of Fair Use or Permissioned use of copyrighted materials should be documented to show intent and demonstrate that permissions were sought as needed.
Never copy and distribute copies of entire books, workbooks, study guides, practice books, or even an entire page from a textbook. There is NO fair use exemption for workbooks, study guides, practice or testing books, and textbooks.
American Library Association's Fair Use Evaluator: A web form that you can use to create a date stamped fair use evaluation for your records.
In 2020, Congress passed a new law called the “Copyright Alternative in Small-Claims Enforcement Act of 2020,” known as the “CASE Act.” The CASE Act mandated the formation of the Copyright Claims Board (“CCB”), a U.S. Copyright Office based tribunal enabling small copyright claims to be heard outside the federal judiciary. This facilitates the deciding of “small claims” copyright infringement actions via a quicker, less expensive process. Damages are capped at $30,000 for CCB cases.
Text of CASE Act: Copyright Alternative in Small-Claims Enforcement Act of 2020 (CASE Act)
CCB More Information: Copyright Claims Board (ccb.gov)
The Copyright Claims Board 101 Basics: CCB 101
Please Note: this is a very recent act and the CCB is new. The U.S. Copyright Office may still be creating rules that impact this law. This LibGuide will be updated as new information is available.
The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) Artificial Intelligence site is focused on incentivizing more innovation, inclusively and in key technology areas such as artificial intelligence (AI) and other emerging technologies (ET) (e.g., quantum computing, synthetic biology, blockchain, precision medicine, and virtual reality), protecting that innovation and bringing it to impact to enhance our country’s economic prosperity and national security and to solve world problems.
Artificial Intelligence Patent Dataset: To assist researchers and policymakers focusing on the determinants and impacts of artificial intelligence (AI) invention, OCE released two data files, collectively called the Artificial Intelligence Patent Dataset (AIPD). The first data file identifies United States (U.S.) patents issued between 1976 and 2020 and pre-grant publications (PGPubs) published through 2020 that contain one or more of several AI technology components..... The second data file contains the patent documents used to train the ML models.